Certification Standards
Types of Standards
Two types of standards promote responsible environmental practices, and Weyerhaeuser embraces them both.
The first type is unique to forestry and specifies particular environmental practices, such as prompt reforestation of logged areas and protection of streams and wildlife habitat. Three forestry standards are specific to North America:
There are also two international "umbrella" programs:
- The Forest Stewardship Council, an international standard with regional variations. The FSC standard originally was developed for tropical areas where effective governmental regulations of forestry practices did not exist. FSC standards in North America (although not in some other regions) generally discourage some silvicultural practices that are important to intensive, commercial forest management.
- The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, an international umbrella organization for the assessment and mutual recognition of national forest certification standards. It now endorses 25 sustainable forest management standards (including SFI, CSA and ATFS), which account for nearly 500 million acres of certified forestland.
The second type of standard prescribes the management systems and practices needed to ensure that a company's environmental policies and standards are effectively implemented. The most widely accepted standard is the International Organization for Standardization ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.
Sustainable Forest Management Standards
In the 1990s, concern over forest conservation prompted the establishment of several different sustainable forest management standards. The differences between these standards were, and to some extent still are, a function of their origins. They were founded by different interests and tailored to national differences in government regulation. Over time, however, business realities and societal expectations have narrowed the differences. Many independent observers now believe that all of the major certification systems are credible standards for sustainable forestry. All have third-party certification procedures that validate a participant's compliance with the requirements in the standards.
Certification to all the major sustainable forest management standards ensures that forests are managed in ways that:
- Address both timber and nontimber forest values
- Maintain forest productivity and biodiversity
- Protect soil and water
- Offer aesthetic, recreational, cultural, and wildlife benefits
The development and administration of sustainable forest management standards are controlled by independent boards. These boards have representation from environmental organizations, forest products companies, and the wider forestry community and represent the environmental, social, and economic values required for sustainable practices.
With the exception of the American Tree Farm System, sustainable forest management standards also set rules for documenting the source of wood used in a product and the conditions under which a product can carry a certified product label.
Find more about our environmental management system standards.
Certification of Weyerhaeuser Forests
All of Weyerhaeuser's timberlands operations have environmental management systems that are aligned with the ISO 14001 standard. In addition:
- All of our U.S. timberlands have been independently certified as meeting the requirements of the SFI standard.
- All of the land we manage in Canada has been independently certified as meeting the requirements of the CSA standard or the SFI standard.
- Land we own in Uruguay is managed to the requirements of Weyerhaeuser's internal sustainable forestry policy, which ensures that all Weyerhaeuser-managed forestlands are managed to a consistently high level of stewardship.
To find out more about the certification of our operations, read about our environmental management systems and certification of our forests.
Why Weyerhaeuser chose SFI® and CSA
Weyerhaeuser chose to use the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® and Canadian Standards Association standards for our U.S. and Canadian operations, respectively, because they:
- Are well accepted in the marketplace and satisfy our own and our customers' procurement policies
- Address each nation's unique cultural and land-ownership conditions: SFI for the diverse, privately owned, and often small tracts in the United States and New Brunswick, Canada, and CSA for the large, publicly owned tracts in other parts of Canada
- Reflect the legal institutions and requirements in both countries
- Offer the best fit with our management strategies to derive economic, environmental, and social benefits from the forests we manage
American Tree Farm System Approved by PEFC
In August 2008, the American Tree Farm System® achieved approval by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes. PEFC is an international, independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization, founded in 1999 which promotes sustainably managed forests through independent third party certification. ATFS is the oldest and largest forest conservation, certification, and advocacy program in the United States. It is specifically designed for family forest owners, who own nearly two-thirds of the country’s forestlands. The 67-year-old program is sponsored by the American Forest Foundation.
The PEFC recognition will open the door for family forest owners to new green markets for wood that is sustainably produced on their land. The Geneva-based Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes made the announcement after a 14-month rigorous review designed to provide assurance to purchasers that certified wood and paper products are in fact produced from sustainably managed forests.
What Independent Observers Think of the Standards
Independent organizations have verified that the standards established by the Canadian Standards Association, Forest Stewardship Council, Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, and Sustainable Forestry Initiative® are all credible systems. For example:
- The Central Point of Expertise on Timber-the United Kingdom's government agency that assesses forest certification systems-determined that SFI, CSA, PEFC, and FSC fully meet the agency's criteria for evidence of legal and sustainable sources of forest products.
- Finnish consulting firm Savcor Indufor Oy studied the effectiveness of PEFC and FSC in Nordic countries. It concluded that both standards enhance sustainable forest management and do not result in significantly different outcomes in the practical implementation of the environmental, social, or economic requirements.
- Metafore, a nonprofit organization that seeks nonregulatory solutions to environmental challenges, concluded that SFI, CSA, and FSC are all transparent, include opportunities for input from different stakeholders, and share similar characteristics on key operational and structural criteria.
To learn about what certification says about our products, see the Environmental Footprint section.
